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United States Patent | 6,120,819 |
Violi ,   et al. | September 19, 2000 |
Meals are placed on individual trays in an institutional kitchen. The individual trays have a first part carrying the meal portion intended to be eaten hot and covered with a thermally insulative cloche and a second part carrying the meal portion intended to be eaten cold. The individual trays are transported in a thermally insulated enclosure to the places where the meals are to be eaten, where they are distributed into local individual units having a thermally insulated enclosure. Each individual unit includes retractable contact terminals operated by an electromagnet and contacting external terminals on the cloche which are in turn electrically connected to an electrical heating element of the cloche. Accordingly, by supplying power to the contact terminals, the meal portions intended to be eaten hot and placed under the cloches are selectively heated. The device is relatively inexpensive and facilitates meal handlings in compliance with hygiene conditions.
Inventors: | Violi; Jean-Charles (Marlens, FR); Violi; Raymond (Marlens, FR); Ferbus; Jean-Fran.cedilla.ois (Seythenex, FR) |
Assignee: | Societe Cooperative de Production Bourgeois (Faverges, FR) |
Appl. No.: | 293121 |
Filed: | April 16, 1999 |
May 16, 1997[FR] | 97 06359 | |
Aug 04, 1997[FR] | 97 10181 |
Current U.S. Class: | 426/243; 99/483; 219/386; 426/244; 426/390 |
Intern'l Class: | A21D 006/00 |
Field of Search: | 426/390,243,244 99/483,340,448,451,470 219/386,620,622 165/64 |
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